


to have a home

by yosef_the_tycoon



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hospital, BAMF Alex Danvers, Big Gay Love Story, Bisexual Kara Danvers, Endgame Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, Excellent, F/F, Fuck the CW, Hazing, Idiots in Love, Kara Danvers Loves Lena Luthor, Lena Luthor Needs a Hug, Lesbian Lena Luthor, Love at First Sight, Minor Nia Nal, Protective Alex Danvers, Protective Kara Danvers, Slow Burn Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, also did someone say, basically they're just having a gay old time at a hospital, ft the messed up American healthcare system, i'll add tags as i go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:27:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26381896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yosef_the_tycoon/pseuds/yosef_the_tycoon
Summary: The doctor AU that no one asked for (unless you did, in which case, here you go)
Relationships: Alex Danvers & J'onn J'onzz | Hank Henshaw, Alex Danvers/Kelly Olsen, Kara Danvers & Lucy Lane, Kara Danvers & Winn Schott Jr., Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, Samantha "Sam" Arias & Alex Danvers, Samantha "Sam" Arias & Kara Danvers
Comments: 29
Kudos: 112





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> current mood: fuck cwsg all my homies hate cwsg
> 
> anyways. chapter one of the hospital au that's been sitting in my drafts for months. 
> 
> disclaimer: I know literally nothing about medicine or doctors or hospitals. also, there's a lot of puns in this I'm sorry
> 
> enjoy this mess :)

Kara sinks into one of the spinny chairs, fingers wrapped around her coffee. It's admittedly mostly milk and sugar, but it's the only way she'll drink it. 

"Morning," Alex mutters from a computer. Coffee steams next to her - she takes it black. 

Kara sips at her coffee, slowly waking up while she fills in some of yesterday's paperwork. 

"Oh shit," Mike says next to her. He's looking at the small TV in the corner with the news. 

Kara's instantly awake. Freeway crash. 

"I've got the phone," Alex says. Kara nods, and she and Mike head into the lobby. 

Lucy - paramedic, also Kara's ex - already has the first patient. "12 year old girl. She's tachy, we've got fluids run up. No major injuries." 

Mike nods, following her gurney. 

The next isn't so lucky - Kara can already see the metal her stomach. "36 year old female, shrapnel in the abdomen." 

Kara takes over with the Ambu bag once she's shifted onto a gurney, and they head up to surgery. She's got experience now, plenty of it, but her heart is always in her throat at times like this.

Kara can see J'onn talking to a woman outside one of the doors. "External triage," Kara explains. "She needs surgery, ASAP." 

The woman turns and Kara feels something swoop, low in her stomach. Holy shit. This must be Dr Leyland - they had been talking about her just yesterday at their post-shift game night. 

"Heard we're getting a new surgeon tomorrow," Lucy had said, popping a chip into her mouth. 

"Oh yeah, from Metropolis," Kara agreed. She hadn't really heard much from J'onn, except that she was really, really good. 

Alex made a face. "Ugh, I hate surgeons. They're all so arrogant." 

"True," said Winn. Lucy threw a chip at his face. "Oh my God! What was that for?" 

"You're a hypocrite, Winnslow Schott." 

"I'm not that arrogant!" 

Lucy hummed. "Okay. Sure." 

"Rude." 

"Hey, at least we know she can't be as arrogant as Winn," Kara pointed out. 

Winn looked indignant, but was interrupted by Sam coming back from the kitchen. "Wait, are you guys talking about Lena?"

"Why, do you know her?" asked Alex.

"From Metropolis. I've known her since med school," she said nochalantly. 

"Oh my God!" Alex protested.

"Yeah, you gotta tell us everything," Kara said around her ice cream.

Sam looked vaguely affronted, but took it with an easy smile. "Y'all need to chill. You'll- I mean, I'll let you make your own mind up. I will say that she can seem cold at first, but she's really not."

"Hold up," Lucy said, looking at her phone. "Lena Leyland is aunty Lena?"

"Aunty Lena?" Alex questioned.

"Ruby calls her aunty," Sam shrugged.

"Sam! How come the this is the first we're hearing?" Kara said indignantly.

"It's not?"

"It is! Dude, you're like, the most secretive person I know," Alex said.

Sam sighed. "Not this again. I'm not secretive! I'm just- I'm the opposite of Kara."

"Hey!"

"You do overshare," Alex pointed out. 

"Rude." 

Now, at the hospital, J'onn raises an eyebrow at the Dr Leyland. Kara's mouth dries up when they make eye contact. She's beautiful. "It's all you," he says. 

"I'll scrub in," she agrees nonchalantly. "You happy to assist?" 

It takes Kara a minute to realise she means Kara. "Uh, yeah. Yes. That's fine."

"Are you sure? Because-" 

"Yes." 

"Alright then." 

The surgery ends up being long. It's not particularly dire - despite how bad the crash had looked - but there's several long pieces of shrapnel that are uncomfortably close to the woman's vitals. 

Kara is surprised to find that they click. After her earlier word fart she had been worried about respect - Kara knows she's a good doctor, but she also knows that 'dork' is usually the first word people use to describe her. But Dr. Leyland is quick, and efficient, and becomes absorbed in the task. 

Still, at some point, they start some dumb competition in which they trade puns and refuse to laugh. Kara started it, admittedly. 

"A man goes to the hospital," Kara says slowly. "He says, 'Doctor, I think I'm a bit hard of hearing.' The doctor replies, 'Can you describe the symptoms?' The man says, 'Sure. Marge has blue hair. Homer is fat and bald." 

Lena is focusing on the surgery, but Kara sees a dimple appear as she suppresses her smile. There's silence as she pulls out the third piece. She turns to put it with the others. 

"Oh, God. Okay. A friend of mine was destined to be an osteopath. He said he could feel it in his bones." 

Kara snorts, then regrets it. "No, nope. Not funny." 

"Oh, you can do better?"

What wouldn't Kara do to keep her smirking like that.

"Um, of course," she replies. "But I have to say, I don't find health-related puns funny anymore. Not since I developed an irony deficiency." 

Dr. Leyland's lips twitch as she prepares to remove the last piece of metal. "I once heard a joke about amnesia, but I forgot how it goes." 

"Okay, well. Statistically, 9 out of 10 injections are in vein." 

"Oh God," Lena breathes. "Okay, I need you to cut right there, and we'll be golden." 

Kara does so, and Lena removes the final piece without any complications.

As they wash their hands, Kara realises she hasn't properly introduced herself. "I'm Kara, by the way."

"Lena Leyland," says the other woman. "But you already knew that. 

"I did," Kara admits. Alex comes in at that moment, and begins washing her hands. "But it was nice to meet you properly." 

"And you. We make a pretty good team." She smiles, and the warmth of it hits Kara on the solar plexus. 

"Can't disagree with you there," Kara agrees, and her throat feels strangely tight. "But your puns are terrible." 

"Your puns are worse." 

Alex raises an eyebrow. "All puns are objectively terrible. I'm Doctor Danvers. It's nice to meet you." 

"You're both Danvers?" 

"Yeah. Alex is my sister," Kara tells her. 

"Oh. Well, it's nice to meet you both. I'm sure we'll all be working together in the future."

"Come on, I'll introduce you to the others." 

At the end of her shift, Kara travels home to her empty apartment 

Kara knows the dangers of walking alone at night. She's a doctor - she has more horror stories than most. Still, she likes the way cities feel at night, and for a ten minute walk she holds faith in her MMA training as a teenager.

She's a people person. She likes the noise, the sounds of people and cars rushing around her.

It's muffled at home, inside her empty apartment. It's not late enough that she can't still hear traffic, but the emptiness of her own apartment echoes in her ears. 

She wraps her softest blanket around her, and tries to pay attention to the TV. Instead, her mind keep tripping back to Lena.

Not to mention the way that her hands are clammy, and her heart rests uncomfortably loud in her chest.

She calls Alex.

"What is it, Kara, I'm about to go to sleep."

"Alex, there's something wrong with me."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm all sweaty, and my mouth is dry, and I can't focus on anything. Except I can't stop thinking about Lena."

A pause.

Then, Alex starts laughing.

"Alex, it's not funny!"

"It is, oh my god, it so is. You just have a crush, Kara. File 'my doctor sister asking about her crush symptoms' under 'dumbassery at its finest'. We all noticed."

Kara pauses, and realised that probably makes sense. Lena is beautiful, and Kara is lonely - she hasn't been serious about anyone since Lucy, over a year ago. "Okay fine. Maybe. Goodnight."

"Dumbass," Alex says affectionately, before hanging up.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to stop writing fics in one sitting at one am cause they're literally 90% dialogue
> 
> anyways, here's part 2: ft nia, some light hazing, bonding, and the absolute mess that is the American healthcare system. fr I feel so bad for y'all

Kara squeezes in some time to eat her lunch, which coincides with Alex - they try to keep a routine for lunch but it's not always possible. She chews her sandwhich probably too slowly, observing Sam and Lena. They seem comfortable, close - makes sense, she reasons, if they went to med school together. 

Alex sips her soup. "Of all the people you could choose to crush on?" 

"Shut up." Kara shrugs. "I don't understand what you don't like about her." 

"I don't know, there's something off about her." 

"You say that about everyone!" 

"True. But I mean it." 

"I like her," Kara says again. 

"That's just because she laughed at your stupid jokes." 

And maybe Kara smiles at the memory. "Okay, whatever."

It's not long before Alex is whisked off elsewhere, and Kara ends up chatting to Lucy - she's a paramedic, but she's off the road today.

Karas glad they can still talk like this; the break up hadn't been messy, exactly, but there had been a good few weeks of awkwardness. Mostly on Kara's part. 

"Dude, if you're off road, why are you here?" Winn asks. 

"Because it's my job? Point is, I don't think we've pulled enough pranks on the new intern yet." 

"Noo, Lucy, I like Nia," Kara protests. 

"Come on, you have to do at least one, or is she even a real doctor?" 

"You're not a real doctor!" 

"How rude," Winn comments. "I think we should fill her locker with Legos."

"What about the classic - pretend she has to check on a 'dead' person?" 

"That's a good one," Winn agrees. 

"Sure, as long as you're the body." 

"You know what, Danvers, I will be the body. I think it'll be fun." 

It doesn't end up happening until towards the end of the shift. They leave ice on Winn's arms, and then cover him with a sheet.

"Hey Nia," Kara says, when she spots her in the hallway. "Come here, I need you to do something for me." 

"Of course. What is it?" 

"I just need you to check a dead patient's vitals before we contact the family." 

"Really? Uh, okay." 

Kara leads her into the room Winn is in. Nia looks back at Kara, who nods in reassurance. "Go on." 

The moment she touches the wrist, Winn sits upright and shrieks. Nia jumps backwards, yelling, "Jesus fucking Christ!"

Kara can't help but laugh, and neither can Winn. She thinks she can hear laughter from outside, and she opens the door. 

"Vitals all good?" asks Lucy from outside the door. 

"Yeah, pretty unchanged I think," Nia says sarcastically, but she's smiling. 

They invite Nia to game night that Friday. 

-~-

Wednesday of the same week, Kara's second patient of the day is a 31 year old cyclist - Sandra. Hit by a car, ribs broken, internal bleeding. Needs urgent surgery. She has a five year old daughter at home. 

She doesn't have insurance.

Kara is stupid enough to swear to her that she's not going to die today. 

Thank God, Lena is nearby. "I need you to do surgery on the patient in Surgery 3."

"Sure," she says, nonchalant. "I'll be right up. What does she need? "

"It's urgent. Cyclist, she's bleeding internally." 

They're walking and talking. "But there's something else, isn't there? I can tell." 

"She doesn't have insurance." 

Lena pauses. "Dr Danvers, you know we can't do that." 

"Please," Kara hisses. She can feel the blood drying into the cracks of her gloved fingers. "I can't do this on my own."

Lena still looks uneasy. 

"A woman's life is in the balance. You can save her," Kara says insistently.

Her eyes meet Kara's, and they're resolute. "Take me to her."

The tension in the room is palpable but they get it done. When Sandra wakes up, she grips Lena's hand and tells her thank you. 

J'onn is another story. He doesn't even look angry, just disappointed. Says they can't just go around doing things like that. 

"Come on!" Kara protests. "I couldn't just let her die."

"You don't know that she would have."

"But-"

"No buts." 

"Sir, we chose this profession to help people. And today we stopped a little girl from becoming an orphan. I won't apologise for that." 

He rubs his forehead, but Kara knows he's a good man. And he is. He's not truly mad - he just has more obligations than Kara. 

"Sir, with respect, Dr Danvers didn't make the decision lightly or alone." Lena inerjects. "I'm willing to cover the cost, if that's what it takes."

J'onn sighs. "Fine. But you have to talk to Old Man Bernard next time he comes in." 

"Fine." 

"Old Man Bernard?" 

"I'll explain later." 

"And," he adds, "You have to empty all the bedpans." 

"Lovely."

Lena winces, but follows her to the bedridden patients

"You don't have to come with, you know," Kara pointed out. 

"I know, but it's on both of us. And you did nothing wrong - I'm happy to help." 

"Are you sure? Because it's nasty. Like, really nasty." 

"Wait really? Emptying bedpans is nasty? No way." 

"Crazy, right? I mean, who would have guessed?" 

"Not me, certainly."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if anyone was curious about the roles of the characters introduced so far (or at least what they were originally supposed to be oop):
> 
> alex - ex-military medic, now regular doctor  
> kara - doctor  
> Nia - intern  
> J'onn - in charge of hospital  
> Lucy - paramedic  
> Sam - nurse (transferred from metropolis)   
> Lena - surgeon (transferred from metropolis)


End file.
